This invention relates to the collection and storage of biological fluids. The invention more particularly relates to an improved apparatus for collecting fluids such as blood, serum, plasma and the like into flexible containers made from plastic, rubberized cloth and the like, which utilizes the unique method as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,107.
In accordance with conventional practices, blood is taken from human donors or animals and stored in sterilized glass bottles and/or flexible containers. Blood is removed from the body of the donor through a phlebotomy needle inserted into a vein, the needle being connected to the storage container by means of flexible tubing. The glass bottles which are used for this purpose require special construction and are therefore relatively costly. In order to reuse these bottles, a careful sterilization process must be effected using special equipment. Further, glass bottles are easily breakable and are not adapted to fit into small or irregular spaces.
In recent years, flexible containers have found wide spread use for the storage of blood. The most commonly used type of flexible containers is manufactured from a plastic material. Collapsible containers, by their very nature, are incapable of being previously evacuated. To solve this problem, the flexible containers have been used in conjunction with blood extracting equipment which includes a vacuum chamber designed to receive the flexible container therein. The vacuum chamber includes means for drawing vacuum therein during the extracting operation. This type of system permits the collection of blood into a flexible container under the influence of a vacuum. However, as the flexible container is being filled, it expands in volume into contact with the sides of the vacuum chamber making it quite difficult to remove the blood filled container from the chamber upon completion of the blood draw. If the vacuum chamber is increased in size to solve the above problem then there is no control of the upper limit of the quantity of blood drawn.
An apparatus for collecting biological fluids is disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 4,060,107, having the same inventive entity as the present application, which permits the collection of varying quantities of fluid into a flexible container positioned within a vacuum chamber, in a manner which permits the easy withdrawal of the full flexible container from the vacuum chamber. The present invention is an improvement of the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,107.